Last Art For Occult Tech Armory and Next Projects

Well, I'm waiting on the last few pieces of artwork for the Occult Tech Armory. I've got a handful of images still outstanding, and I should have this mid-length sourcebook up by next week.

After Occult Tech Armory, I'm going to start collecting artwork for Enchantments of Black Tokyo II. This sourcebook's grown a lot in the past few weeks, mostly due to some suggestions and rules questions from a particularly zealous fan. I've gone back and added about 20 all-new spells to the draft, as well as a bunch of new magic items. The subtitle for the book is Sex Toys, School Girls and Powered Armor, and yeah, it's got all that stuff. There's a bunch of enchanted powered armor, including some really fun Bubblegum Crisis homages for players to discover. There's a bunch of really weird new spells added, including one that's probably my favorite at the book: Parade of Gory Deaths. Basically, for the spell's duration, you've only got 1 HP, but if you die you self resurrect in seconds, and you can use all the corpses generated as tools and problem solvers. Really fun spell to write, and I'll preview it soon enough.

I'm also FINALLY doing an unnamed APEX sourcebook for Otherverse America. I've let Otherverse America lay kinda fallow this year, as I focus on Black Tokyo, and I've neglected the APEX faction for too long. This book will do for the Federal Government what Culture of Choice did for the Covenant, and what a future soucebook will do for the Lifers- a big, crunchy guide to building heroes from that faction.

So finally, let me preview a trio of fun magic items from the Occult Tech Armory: a magic armor, an enchanted weapon, and a neat artifact, illustrated by Amanda Webb.

Size Suit

Slot armor Weight 2-3 lbs

Size Suits are heavy, durable Kevlar and vinyl body stockings woven with uncounted miles of nearly pico-tech scale circuitry. These suits are fully sealed, functioning as an advanced spacesuit designed to allow the wearer to explore inner space. Most have a bright central torso stripe with darker, ribbed sections covering the limbs and flanks.

A Size Suit, regardless of type, functions as +2 action wear.

While wearing the Size Suit, the character can change her size at will as a move equivalent action. A character can remain at any changed size for as long as desired, but returns to their base size if unconscious or slain.

The Maximize Suit acts as enlarge person, allowing the wearer to increase their size by one category. The Minimize Suit functions as reduce person, allowing the wearer to reduce their size by one category.

Maximize Plus allows the wearer to enlarge their size by up to three categories, either as one transformation or in multiple steps. The wearer can also shrink down to their base size or one or two size categories larger than base. Minimize Plus functions similarly, but reduces the wearer’s size by up to three categories.

The Multiphasic Size Suit function as both a Maximize Plus and a Minimize Plus suit.

Size Suit Type	CL	Aura	Spells Required	Suit Price	Suit Cost
Maximize	4th	faint transmutation	enlarge person	17,200 gp (DC 28)	8,600 gp (DC 25)
Maximize +	11th	moderate transmutation	enlarge person	23,200 gp (DC 29)	11,600 gp (DC 26)
Minimize	4th	faint transmutation	reduce person	17,200 gp (DC 28)	8,600 gp (DC 25)
Minimize +	11th	moderate transmutation	reduce person	23,200 gp (DC 29)	11,600 gp (DC 26)
Multiphasic	15th	strong transmutation	enlarge person, reduce person	56,200 gp (DC 32)	28,100 gp (DC 29)

Construction

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, see chart

 Gauntlet, Gateway

Aura strong conjuration CL 14^th

Slot weapon Price 230,000 gp (DC 37) Weight 5 lbs

The Gateway Gauntlet is a milk white, slightly tapered cylinder fit tightly over the shooter’s dominant hand. A trio of glossy blue-steel pincers protrude from the barrel, and ‘weave’ colorful strands of aquamarine, blue and violet energy into a coherent energy beam each time the trigger is touched.

The Gateway Gauntlet is a +3 blaster gauntlet. Unlike normal Blaster Gauntlets, the Gateway Gauntlet inflicts force damage rather than fire damage.

The wearer’s user can utilize a heavily modified form of phase door at will by firing the Gateway Gauntlet and creating a short range dimensional portal. Once a new portal is created by the Gateway Gauntlet, all previously created portals vanish. The portal created is visible to all, a glowing aperture in reality surrounded by a corona of cold light, and you can see through the portal even without passing through it.

Only the Gateway Gauntlet’s wielder, and those he or she is in direct physical contact with at the moment of transition, can pass through this portal. Energy, however, can pass through the portal in both directions. For instance, an enemy can shoot at the portal’s creator through the portal via spells, energy weapons or innate energy projection abilities. Fortunately, the Gauntlet’s owner can at least shoot back.

                             

Construction

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, magic missile, phase door

Cost 115,000 gp (DC 34)

Knight Instance Module

Common Minor Artifact

Aura strong universal CL 20^th            

Slot none Weight 2 lbs

Knight Instance Modules (KIMs) are grape-sized, ebony, plastic spheres with a single glowing red display light that pulses rhythmically. These devices contain a copy of a powerful, widely distributed AI specialized in vehicle control and maneuverability. The high-level AI codenamed Knight has been installed in thousands of vehicles throughout the galaxy, and each KIM contains an individual copy of its core programming (an instance).

If installed in any vehicle, mecha or suit of powered armor, nanite foundries within the KIM come online, and rebuild the host vehicle as a sleek, stealth-configured ebony prototype. A crimson scanner pulses rhythmically as the advanced AI uses the host vehicle’s sensor package to scan the environment.

It requires 24 hours for a newly installed KIM to integrate with its vehicular host, and complete the transformation. When the transformation is complete, the vehicle, mecha or powered armor’s Hardness increases by 5 and its HP increases by 20% (rounded down).

The KIM-linked vehicle is attuned to a particular driver or pilot, and will not function for another driver or pilot. When piloted by its designated user, both the KIM and the pilot make separate Initiative checks and use the better of the two rolls; the KIM is considered to have a +8 modifier to Initiative.

The KIM-linked vehicle can pilot itself and activate all functions on its own initiative. In the case of powered armor or mecha, the KIM is considered to have a base attack bonus equal to its pilot, if operating independently.

The KIM provides its designated pilot with Weapon Focus with one integrated weapon system of choice (if present), as well as a +8 competence bonus on Drive or Pilot checks with the linked vehicle (or Acrobatics or Fly checks in the case of powered armor or mecha.) 

If a KIM-linked vehicle survives its pilots demise, it can act independently, and may designate a new pilot of its choice after a month elapses.

Personality and Attributes

The KIM is a stoic and professional LN intelligence with a bit of a snarky, sarcastic streak. The KIM will rarely initiate a struggle for dominance against its driver or pilot, only trying to take control if its vehicle host is threatened or if the driver or pilot is incapacitated behind the wheel. The KIM is vaguely hostile to other instances of it’s AI code, and encourages its pilot to destroy rival KIM AI whenever possible- a dramatic departure from its usual crisply professional demeanor. The KIM intelligence will reluctantly work with rival AI of its type if its pilot considers the rival vital to the current mission, or if the rival AI has similar goals or can be of obvious use.

The KIM has 14 INT, 12 WIS and 12 CHA, as well as an Ego score of 18.

Senses

The Knight Instance Module has blindsight 30 ft in its inactive state, can perceive unencrypted wifi/radio/television signals  and in can communicate vocally or wirelessly in this state. When installed in a vehicle, the KIM has access to all the vehicle’s sensors and communication systems. The KIM can speak English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and several other common Earth languages.

The KIM can sense the distance and direction to all other KIM-linked vehicles within a 100 mile radius. The KIM-linked vehicle receives a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls against other vehicles with a similar system installed.

Destruction

A Knight Instance Module can be removed from a vehicle with a DC 25 Craft (electronics) check. Outside a host vehicle, the KIM has Hardness 8 and 25 HP, and can be destroyed relatively easily. Similarly, if a KIM-linked vehicle is reduced to -10 HP or fewer, the onboard KIM is destroyed with the vehicle.